


Deep End

by Anonymous



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 23:17:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14725481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Lifeguard AU ~ Dick is the lifeguard at the local pool. Jason wants to play it cool. His brothers aren’t much help. Warnings: Mild sibling cruelty. We’ve all been there before.





	Deep End

“You should stop staring.”

Jason scowled, but teared himself away from the slick, tan form of Dick Grayson, who sat perched atop his lifeguard chair rubbing on another layer of sunscreen. 

“Shouldn’t you be swimming or something?” Jason said defensively. Tim raised an eyebrow. It was two weeks into summer, and the fourteenth day they’ve spent at the pool, hidden in the shade beneath the water slide. 

Damian floundered a bit in his arm floats, and snarled when Tim tried to right him. 

“You’ve been staring at him all summer. Don’t even try to deny it.” Tim said, before his face softened. “Maybe try to talk to him. You never know.”

Damian scoffed. “Todd? Flirting? As if that’d work out.”

Jason resisted the urge to push him. Tim rolled his eyes. 

“What do you know about flirting? You’re six,” Tim said. 

“I am much closer to seven and you know it. It is foolish I would be considered six a month or even the day before I turn seven.”

Jason tuned out his brothers’ arguing and instead found his eyes drifting back towards the lifeguard, tracing his eyes down his lean, sculpted chest and cursing the chair for blocking what had to be the finest ass Jason has ever laid eyes on. It was kind of creepy on his part, admittedly, but damn if Jason didn’t fantasize how it’d feel to squeeze them and cup them as he -

“ - which is why you are not having a birthday party at Bonkers. Right, Jason?”

“Ass,” Jason murmured. Tim frowned while Damian looked scandalized. 

“What?”

“Uh, I mean _yass_ ,” Jason said, ignoring Tim’s narrowed eyes. “Timbo’s right. No parties at Bonkers until you’re ten.”

Damian tried crossing his arms, which instead threw him off balance. “Why not?” he said haughtily.

“First of all, the age requirement to get in the play area without an adult is ten, and don’t think for a second I’m going in there with you. Second, that place is shady as hell. I heard two kids fell -”

Jason snapped his fingers. “That’s it!” Tim scowled at being interrupted.

“What?”

“Here’s the plan. When I fall, start screaming.”

With that, Jason swam out of the shallow end, making his way towards the other side of the pool where it reached six feet.

“ _Jason! _” Tim hissed behind him. “What are you doing?”__

__Jason waded until he was well into the deep end before turning around and giving Tim a salute. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and pulled himself under._ _

__The water was cool and quiet, the screaming from above muffled and distorted. It wasn’t long before he felt a pair of strong arms grip his waist, pulling him above land. He heard panicked shouting, feeling himself being laid down onto the hot concrete._ _

__“Give him some room!” A voice shouted. Jason refrained from frowning. That didn’t sound like -_ _

__He opened his eyes to see a red headed girl staring down at him in bewilderment._ _

___“You’re okay?” ____ _

____“Seriously?” Jason groaned, pulling himself up off the concrete and pushing his way through the crowd that had gathered. He made his way toward the gates, hair dripping. He heard two pairs of wet feet catch up to him._ _ _ _

____“The hell was that?” Tim said, smacking him on the chest. “Did you seriously just try to pull a sandlot?”_ _ _ _

____Damian gazed up at him with narrowed eyes but a sense of awe._ _ _ _

____“Brave, Todd. Foolish, but brave.”_ _ _ _

____****_ _ _ _

____“I still don’t get why you bleached part of your hair,” Tim said. They were under the waterslide again, this time Damian clinging to a pink noodle._ _ _ _

____“So no one can recognize me,” Jason said. “How can I go on with people thinking I’m the boy who fake drowned?”_ _ _ _

____“You bleached your hair - _permanently_ , might I add - for the sake of going to the pool?” Tim said, raising both eyebrows. _ _ _ _

____“We spend two hours here every day and literally nothing else. Might as well go all in.”_ _ _ _

____Damian tsked._ _ _ _

____“You could get a job,” Tim said. “That snow cone place is hiring.”_ _ _ _

____Jason ignored him, instead making another scan of the pool._ _ _ _

____“Where is he? He should be here right now.”_ _ _ _

____“He doesn’t work on Wednesdays,” Tim said. Damian and Jason stared at him. “What?” Tim shrugged. “You got me invested.”_ _ _ _

____It was then that Jason heard that familiar laugh that made his insides curl uncomfortably warm and his mind blank into buzzing white noise. Even Tim and Damian turned towards the sound._ _ _ _

____“I never thought I’d see the day,” Jason whispered reverently._ _ _ _

____On the opposite side of the pool, Dick Grayson shook water out of his hair, laughing. Jason realized he’d been wrong all his life. A dry Dick Grayson was not the greatest thing in the world - a wet Dick Grayson was._ _ _ _

____A dark haired girl surfaced beside him, giggling and clinging to his back. Jason’s eyes flashed._ _ _ _

____“Who is that?”_ _ _ _

____“Dude, chill. First of all, she’s like, twelve. Can’t you tell?”_ _ _ _

____Jason paused. “Huh.”_ _ _ _

____“Anyway, she’s in my class. Her name’s Cassandra. And secondly, she’s his _sister.”__ _ _ _

____“Timbuktu, you are just filled with good news today,” Jason said, ruffling his hair, before pushing a grumbling Tim out of the shade. “Okay, now go talk to her.”_ _ _ _

____“What?” Tim squawked, paddling back into the shade. “I barely know her. We’ve talked, like, once.”_ _ _ _

____“Well, why not make it twice?” Jason said, moving to push him again. Tim ducked out of the offending arms._ _ _ _

____“Because this is your love life, not mine. If anything, get Damian to go. Dick Grayson looks like the kind of guy who adores kids.”_ _ _ _

____“No,” Damian stated. Jason smiled at him dangerously. “Todd, don’t even think about it.”_ _ _ _

____Jason tugged on the pool noodle, pulling him towards the dark haired siblings._ _ _ _

____“Todd,” Damian whispered dangerously. “Let me go immediately or I swear to God I will disembowel you in your childhood bedroom as you fall asleep tonight.”_ _ _ _

____“What was that? I can’t hear you over the incredible pride I feel while teaching my little brother to swim,” Jason said. He held onto a kicking Damian before carefully extracting the pool noodle from the six year old’s clawing hands and tossing it near the siblings._ _ _ _

____“Unhand me you despicable lowlife -”_ _ _ _

____“If you say so.”_ _ _ _

____Jason let go, though standing close by and watching Damian splutter and curse his way towards the noodle, before a pair of arms scooped him up._ _ _ _

____“Goodness, kiddo, you okay?”_ _ _ _

____Jason felt some strange knot in his chest loosen, filling his whole body with warmth at the sight of Dick Grayson, holding his coughing brother to his chest and patting his back. He chose not to dwell on it._ _ _ _

____“Oh my god, Damian, are you okay?” Jason said, rushing towards the boy. He felt the moment Dick Grayson’s eyes lifted and met his. It was as though the sun casted a halo behind his head and birds started singing. It vaguely reminded him of the time he took a small chip of LSD at Roy’s house._ _ _ _

____Then Dick’s eyes darkened._ _ _ _

____“Are you his brother?” Dick asked warily. Jason felt himself go dumbstruck._ _ _ _

____“Yes?”_ _ _ _

____Dick raised an eyebrow._ _ _ _

____“I mean yes. Yes I am.”_ _ _ _

____Dick sighed. “Just try to be more careful next time, okay? Maybe try out those arm floaters, or a kickboard.”_ _ _ _

____Jason swore he saw the little demon smirk before clinging tighter and burrowing his head into the other man’s neck._ _ _ _

____“I don’t want to do this anymore, I want to go home!” Damian whined, wracking his tiny frame with fake sobs. Dick patted Damian’s back consolingly while murmuring in his ear. The sister - Cassandra - looked from Damian to Jason, giving Jason an inquisitive stare._ _ _ _

____“Why don’t you take him home,” Dick said, handing Damian over (and holy shit, were those actual tears in his eyes?) Damian latched on, nails digging deep into Jason’s shoulder._ _ _ _

____“Sorry about that,” Jason blurted. Dick cocked his head to the side, lips curving into a small smile._ _ _ _

____“Oh no, I don’t mind. I just hope he’s okay,” Dick said, before staring at him strangely. “Say, have I seen you before somewhere?”_ _ _ _

____“Uh, probably not. See ya!” Jason said, before beating a hasty retreat towards the slide. He felt Dick’s gaze on his back. Jason swiped up the pool noodle and sighed, rubbing a hand over Damian’s back._ _ _ _

____“Look kid, I didn’t mean to actually scare you. You didn’t choke up any water did you? You were -”_ _ _ _

____“His hair smells like pina colada and he uses Axe deodorant.”_ _ _ _

____Jason refrained from throwing the brat back into the water._ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

_____“Brother, I think that boy likes you.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Hm? Ha, that kid was quite clingy, wasn’t he?”_ _ _ _ _

_____“...”_ _ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

_____“Why didn’t you say hi?”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Hm? Oh, uh, long story short, it would have been awkward.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“...”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Oh, no! Not because of you. It’s just, gah, my brother has a thing for your brother, and I told him I was in your class, and he wanted me to go over and talk to you, but he took my other brother instead and pretended to make him drown and… that doesn’t make sense, does it?”_ _ _ _ _

_____“No, I get it.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“You do? Is it, uh, working?”_ _ _ _ _

_____“No.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“I figured as much.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“But I can help.”_ _ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____“I’m hungry.”_ _ _ _

____Jason gave Tim a weird look._ _ _ _

____“That’s the fifth time you’ve said that.”_ _ _ _

____“Maybe cause I’m hungry.”_ _ _ _

____“No offense - or actually, toss that - but you’re being weirdly whiny today.”_ _ _ _

____“For once, I agree with Todd.”_ _ _ _

____“Just, please? I didn’t eat breakfast this morning, and being in a pool all day is making me feel funny.”_ _ _ _

____Jason still looked skeptical, but nonetheless waded towards the pool edge._ _ _ _

____“What do you want, a pretzel?”_ _ _ _

____Tim nodded._ _ _ _

____Once Jason was out of the pool, Damian turned to Tim._ _ _ _

____“What are you doing.”_ _ _ _

____Tim shook his head. “Nothing. Why?”_ _ _ _

____“I don’t trust you.”_ _ _ _

____“Likewise.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Jason made his way over to their locker, digging his wet hands through his bag until the stumbled across his wallet. He pulled out a five dollar bill and shuffled over to the vending line, the whole time feeling like he was being watched._ _ _ _

____With pretzel in tow, Jason weaved through the towels and running kids toward the lockers until a running girl thwacked headfirst into his shoulder, falling back and hitting her head against the leg of a lifeguard chair before falling into the water. Jason stared for a second as the girl thrashed in the water before his senses kicked in._ _ _ _

____“Holy fuck,” he said, dropping the pretzel to the floor before diving into the water. It took some difficulty, with the girl thrashing about, but eventually he fished her out and plopped her back onto land. The girl coughed, hacking up water._ _ _ _

____“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”_ _ _ _

____He glimpsed the girl’s face beneath her curtain of wet hair._ _ _ _

____“Hey, aren’t you-”_ _ _ _

____“Cass!”_ _ _ _

____Jason looked up to see Dick Grayson running towards them wearing red shorts and a lifeguard shirt. He kneeled down beside her, frantically checking over her before hugging her to his chest and kissing her on the forehead._ _ _ _

____“Oh my god, are you okay? What happened?”_ _ _ _

____“I fell. He saved me,” she said, pointing at Jason. Dick turned towards him, seeing him for the first time. Jason stared back bug eyed._ _ _ _

____“Hey, it’s you.”_ _ _ _

____“Yep. Me,” Jason said. Dick held a hand out._ _ _ _

____“Can I help you out?”_ _ _ _

____Jason suddenly realized he was still standing in the pool, and took the hand. He felt electricity shoot through his arm. Then, as soon as he was on land, Dick Grayson pulled him into a hug, laughing, and Jason felt his heart stutter and trip before crashing to a full stop. ( _Oh my god_ , Jason thought. _Pina colada._ )_ _ _ _

____“I owe you,” Dick said, pulling away. Jason felt cold. “I’m so sorry you got all wet. And your pretzel. Can I buy you a new one?”_ _ _ _

____“I, uh, it’s fine. I mean. It’s just a pretzel.”_ _ _ _

____“No, no, it’s the least I can do.”_ _ _ _

____From the shade beneath the slide, Tim and Damian watched as Jason followed blankly followed the other man, numbly accepting his pretzel and bidding the other two farewell._ _ _ _

____“Sly, Drake,” Damian commented. “But no cigar.”_ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

_____“What was that?”_ _ _ _ _

_____“What was what?”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Cass. You can swim. You’re on a swim team.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“I hit my head. It hurt.”_ _ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____Jason lazily watched as, in the distance, Damian tried to grab Tim from within the confines of his swimming ring. He sighed, checking the time on his phone, and grabbed more sunscreen to cover his shoulders. A shadow fell over him._ _ _ _

____“Hey, it’s you again.”_ _ _ _

____Jason swallowed as Dick sat on the lounge chair next to him. He was out of his lifeguard uniform, instead wearing a pair of black shorts._ _ _ _

____“Hey,” Jason replied, not sure what else to say. Dick smiled at him, and damn, if it wasn’t a cute smile._ _ _ _

____“Not going in the water today?” Dick asked. Jason shook his head._ _ _ _

____“Nah. A bit sick. Figured it wasn’t best to jump in the pool with the rest of the neighborhood.”_ _ _ _

____Dick laughed. Jason watched the corners of his eyes crinkle and the tiny shake of his shoulders._ _ _ _

____“I’m Dick, by the way. I realized I never introduced myself.” Dick held out his hand. Jason shook it._ _ _ _

____“Jason,” he said. Dick nodded towards Tim and Damian beneath the slide’s shade._ _ _ _

____“Those your brothers?”_ _ _ _

____Jason nodded._ _ _ _

____“Yep. Tim and Damian. We don’t look alike much, though. We’re all adopted.”_ _ _ _

____“Hey, same here! Me and my sister, I mean.”_ _ _ _

____“The girl with the dark hair, right?”_ _ _ _

____“Cass, yeah. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.”_ _ _ _

____“Same here. Wouldn’t trade them for the world. Maybe for a dollar, though.”_ _ _ _

____Dick laughed, and God, Jason was utterly fucked. Dick pointed at the bottle of sunscreen, still clutched in his hand._ _ _ _

____“You need help with that?”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Beneath the shade, Tim and Damian stared as Dick smoothed sunscreen onto Jason’s back._ _ _ _

____“Who would have thought, huh?”_ _ _ _

____“What.”_ _ _ _

____“That talking was the solution after all.”  
_The End__ _ _ _


End file.
